Breakdown of Ukame ukiendelea, wakulima watakosa maji mashambani.
maji
the water
kuendelea
to continue
kukosa
to lack
mkulima
the farmer
shamba
the field
ukame
the drought
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Questions & Answers about Ukame ukiendelea, wakulima watakosa maji mashambani.
What does ukame mean?
Ukame means “drought” or “dry spell.” It’s formed from the root kame (dryness) with the noun class 3 prefix u-.
Why is ukiendelea used, and how is it formed?
Ukiendelea is a subordinate (conditional/time) clause meaning “if/when it continues.” It breaks down into:
• u-: subject marker for class 3 (referring back to ukame)
• -ki-: relative/conditional marker (“if/when”)
• endelea: verb root “to continue”
What is the function of -ki- in this sentence?
The -ki- marker attaches after the subject prefix to form an adverbial clause of time or condition. In English it corresponds to “if” or “when” before the verb.
How is watakosa constructed, and what does it mean?
Watakosa means “they will lack.” It consists of:
• wa-: subject marker for class 2 (plural humans, “they”)
• -ta-: future tense marker
• kosa: verb root “to lack”
Why is maji plural, and what noun class does it belong to?
Maji (“water”) is a mass noun in class 6, which is inherently plural. Many substances and mass nouns use this class, so you always say maji even though English treats “water” as singular.
What does mashambani mean, and how is it formed?
Mashambani means “in/on the farms.” You take mashamba (plural of shamba, “farm”) and add the locative suffix -ni to indicate location.
Why isn’t there a tense marker like -ta- or -li- after -ki- in ukiendelea?
When using the -ki- relative/conditional marker, you attach it directly (plus the subject prefix) to the verb root without inserting any separate tense marker. The temporal/conditional sense is carried by -ki- itself.
Could this sentence be rephrased using kama instead of -ki-?
Yes. You can say:
Kama ukame utaendelea, wakulima watakosa maji mashambani.
Here kama means “if,” and utaendelea uses the normal future marker -ta-.